Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-04-30
UNCLE SANS BIG PARK.
The Yellowstone's hot Springs and Wind
ing Canoes,
A Charr ing Ride Through the Great Ma
tional Pleasure Grounds.

You might imagine we were tired
after three days of active travel and
two consecutive nights on the sleeper.
1t was very near 3 IA. m. before many
of us had succeeded in registering and
securing rooms and getting to bed.
We were expected to take the stage the
following. or rather the same morning
lat s, for an all days drive to the Grand
Canon. For myself, | climbed up on to
the box seat feeling decidedly heavy rs
to eyelids and sore as to brain, and
achey rs to limb and frame. After an
hour or two of dullness | had managed
TO become acquainted with my two
companions on the box, IA very bright,
g~ood-looking. good-natured and intelli-
gent young driver, and n very grave
and serious. although very amiable
and pleasant as well rs handsome
senator. And once | got 10 talking on
my ~favorite subject, my many solitary
travels, | was all right. My headache
disappeared, my muscles lost the sense
Of fatigue, and it became patent to the
casual observer that J. was up for AL
! day.
The hotel at the Mammoth Hot
Springs was q very fine and large one,
still the managers had to use a great
deal of judgment in placing their
guests that all might be comfortably
cared for during this time of the tran
sit of the Grand Army from west to
east. | had particularly admired the
management when, at each request for
looms from a gentleman the manager
asked. Are there any ladies in your
part, ?" and, at the response in the
negative, "Register and wait until the
ladies have been settled" If the an
swcr was in the Affirmative, ''HOw
many?' was the query, and the keys
were passed over with, ''Show the
ladies to their rooms Any request
for further keys or attention for him
self was waived off with. $50 and put
the ladies away first; YOU will be at
tended to later All the way from
two to eight persons were put in one
together. and | only got my room
alone 10y being along without u party,
acquaintance or friends.
70 avoid sending more people to the
smaller hotels in the park thar they
could house comfortably the crowd was
broken in small detachmcnts and sent
in different directions. A c~oachload
from there on became q party, and |
was no longer recognized as being
alone, and | was put in with from n
to the whole number OF our ladies ut
the different hotels, and was not per-
mitted to handle my W baggage or
register my own namethenceforth, two
privileges dear to my contrary heart.
These ladies, three in number, had
cultivated me on the train, under the
delusion shared by many others, that |
was the daughter Of General Sherman,
4 dclusiOn which arose from my occu-
plying the stateroom with Miss Sher-
man and going to the dining saloon
under her fathers escort. AT first it
gave me u shock when a lady approach
ed me and said, II had the
pleasure of shaking hands with
your illustrious father the other
day." for my father, who was
illustrious, too, in his own way, had
been dead but "A year. But soon got
used to it and disclaimed the relation
ship, of which | should have been
proud. and the people were pleased 10
cultivate me for myself, having broken
the ice.
After a short drive from the Nam
moth Hot Springs we come to marrow
winding canon known as the Golden
Gate, through which the Gibbon river
passes with a very beautiful fall. The
road winds upon a ledge along the
right wall; after that the road is com
paratively level until we have passed
the Norris geyser basin, where we dine
at noon in q temporary hotel, behind
which a very fine and large one is in
sOurse of construction. After some
Feeble attempts at removing the dust
we sit down to a nice dinner served by
the n~eatest, deftest and most obliging
of mattresses. Dinner is one of the
most important questions to the stage
traveller, for nothing stirs up the Ian
guild appetite like a long and early
drive in the crisp mountain air, so we
dine before We look at the wonderful
geysers that are before the hotel.
The Norris Geyser Basin is said to
be the oldest and the highest in the
park. The Basin lies directly before
and below the hotel, q broad eXpanse
Of dead white lime crust, dotted with
geysers and springs, whose special
basins vary in color from black to
snowy wilderness and %sulphurous yell
low. From here rises u dense steam
and rs dense an odor of sulphur. We
pay our respects first TO the geyser
known as the minute Man." who fires
off a volley of boiling water oAce in
every sixty seconds Ito a height OF
twenty-five or thirty feet the guide
pOok says, SO of course no one need
Tail to see it in action. The Monarch
opd tho Eoar1ace 6oolino1 tn MAY for